3D Positioning System for 3D Printers

The 3D positioning system of a 3D printer corresponds to the overall operation of its x, y and z-axes. Depending
upon the machine, only one axis will be movable, or two, or even
all three.

Description of the 3D Printing System

The 3D positioning system therefore enables a 3D printer's operation.
The fact that there are 3 axes will provide depth to your 3D file and
thus to your object's design.

If there were only 2 axes, your object's design would not be accounted
for in space, andonly an image without depth would emerge from
the printer like when printing with a conventional inkjet printer.

The 3D positioning system is therefore composed of 3 axes. The x and
y axes correspond to the 3D printer's lateral movement, and the
z-axis corresponds to vertical movement.

The 3 kinds of 3D Positioning Systems

Current 3D printers use 3 kinds of systems:

The print bed: a 3D printer is comprised of a printing head (extruder)
and a print bed. In this case, the extruder doesn't move
but the print bed does. The x and y axes are therefore
fixed and the z-axis is the only one to move.

The crane: in this case the extruder moves, not the print bed.
Therefore the x and y axes move while the z-axis remains
fixed.

Deltabot: the printing head is controlled bythree movable control rods. The x, y and z-axes
are therefore all movable, which requires a complex motor
to increase precision and printing speed.

In general, the greater the number of axes, the more flexibility is
gained but at the expense of reduced precision.